NDA gives its leaders freedom to express their views: Swamy

New Delhi, June 19 (ANI): Janata Party president Subramanyan Swamy on Tuesday said that the advantage that the NDA has over the UPA, is that it allows coalition partners freedom to express their views.

Reacting to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's remark that the NDA should finalise a "secular" prime ministerial candidate for the 2014 general elections immediately, Swamy said: "The advantage which I have seen in the NDA and which is not seen in any other coalition is that people are free to express their opinions. Once a decision is taken they agree to it. He had given his opinion on the presidential candidate, but then he said that he is after all a part of the NDA and they would go by NDA's decision. He is a senior leader and part of the NDA. No decision has been taken as yet, so there is no harm in expressing one's opinion."

Bihar's Animal Husbandry Minister Giriraj Singh said in Patna that the Constitution of the country does not allow any communal person to hold any constitutional position.

"The constitution of our country does not allow communalism and it also forbids a communal person from becoming the prime minister or the president. The constitution does not allow any communal person from holding any constitutional position. But the people who are making such statements, they are themselves pseudo secular. They are asking for a debate on communalism and are stressing on the need to define secularism. Secularism is not somebody's personal property. If Ram says someone is secular, and if Rahim says someone is communal, then they are branded as secular or communal. So, firstly there is need to define secularism," said Singh

The Congress party refrained from commenting on the matter while terming it an internal matter of the NDA.

"See, it is their internal matter and NDA will decide it themselves. We do not interfere in anyone's internal matters," said Congress party spokesperson Rashid Alvi.

Congress party leader from Gujarat, Shankar Singh Vaghela, hailed Kumar for undertaking development work in Bihar.

"It is a matter of the NDA and the BJP. Nitish Kumar is a good and a sensible Chief Minister.

I believe that today Bihar has progressed a lot under the leadership of Nitish Kumar as compared to Gujrat. Today Gujarat is lagging behind and it is mere propaganda that it is number one. It is Nitish Kumar's own view and NDA has to think what has to be done," said Vaghela in New Delhi on Tuesday.

Modi, a member of the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has leveraged the economic success of his state to become a national leader and potential prime minister despite accusations of complicity in religious riots in 2002 that killed hundreds of people, mostly Muslims.

He was also denied a visa to the United States.

He has been popular for attracting investment in Gujarat, may be the best hope the BJP has of beating the Congress party-led government in 2014 elections. (ANI)